Bruised
by PassiveIre
Summary: Hero TV's fire user and a vigilante judge walk into a bar.  Rated T for alcohol consumption.


Nathan "Fire Emblem" Seymour stood out brightly against the muted business vibe of the bar. As if to prove the fact, a feather from his shoulder swished in the light air conditioning and tickled his ear. Maybe it was that stray movement or a soft sigh that he had been tuned out with the rest of the bustle at the counter that turned the man's head sideways.

The Honorable Yuri Petrov sat in a suit, almost blending in except for the exotic beauty that was his hair and magnificent eyes. _Seriously_, Nathan thought, _the man's eyes were almost __**alien**_. On cue, glasses tinkled and chinked in an odd, _pretty_ melody. Nathan almost laughed at the complete ridiculous thought that the city was giving the judge an intro.

Yuri had a masculine cocktail sitting between his elbows while nursing his obviously aching head. Nathan winced. The man was reputed to be very private and stone-faced, so such an open display of discomfort tweaked his sympathy heart strings. About to turn back to his drink of fruity fun, a soft gasp escaped his painted lips.

_Who would __**dare**_? Was the thought that passed behind his eyes, and he was suddenly touching the thing shoulder in a suit beside him.

"Who hit you?" Nathan asked a bit of worry leaking into his voice. _Well so much for the polite 'Hey, how are you.´_

Yuri started and almost tipped his glass over with a swift but not hostile elbow that put space between them. (Nathan silently acknowledged this too. _No touchy, got it._) Silver-blue and purple contacted eyes studied each other for a moment, sizing up and asking. A loud whoop of laughter from a group of men further back in the bar seemed to be their ice breaker.

Yuri blinked and raised his long fingered hand upward in question.

"I wasn't hit…?" Confusion cleared as his eyes widened in shock at the realization that his scar was starting to show. _Another reason to want to slowly rip 'Wild Tiger' to pieces. _His headache twinged at the thought.

Nathan watched those (_sinfully enviable eyes_) eyes do their little emotions dance and his gaze flitted to the bruise again. Ignoring all his questions of whys and lectures of being clumsy/letting people beat on you (his anger didn't go unnoticed in his chest then), the darker man carefully gestured toward Yuri's forehead, making sure not to touch him.

"Well it doesn't look to bad, sir, I'm sure just a bit of concealer would do the trick." He gave a gentle, upbeat smile at that, offering his help with a shake of his purse.

"Uh," Yuri faltered. _I have a meeting in less than an hour. Just a formality, I'm not actually expected to do anything but show up. _(Yuri didn't get the position of the Justice's judge and secret vigilante without knowing when to keep his mouth shut.) "That would be…helpful." He finished.

The bathrooms in the slightly upscale bar were discretely numerous (bars make you piss, not matter how you dressed it up) and all catered to men. Gender exclusive establishments were both loved and hated around the city. The mismatched pair found one not likely to be disturbed and sat to work.

Yuri kept his hands on his knees, sitting on a bench in the 'waiting area' of the bathroom. Face carefully upturned, he was uncomfortably open and vulnerable.

Nathan sashayed across the area after digging through is purse in search of the right product. Careful to keep most of his long body tilted away from the judge, he set to work.

Eyes closed, he tensed minutely at the first gentle brush of fingernails over pale eyebrow.

"So sorry." Was liltingly murmured.

The ordeal took less than five minutes and no small talk was attempted. Against Nathan's nature, but the other man was already going against his own grain in letting another person in contact with him on a slightly personal level. He could also tell that the bruise was something _not_ on the lists of things the, again Nathan's brain supplied 'alien', man was going to talk about soon, if ever.

"All done." And with a almost loud jingle of bracelets in the overly quiet restroom, Nathan secured the lid back on the stick of concealer. He was again very jealous of those wide, super lashed _eyes_. (Nathan has a thing for eyes, he's been told.) They opened and surveyed him with some calculation.

"Thank you." Was all he said, and quietly left ahead of the Hero.

Setting out to finish his drink and pay his tab, Nathan was pleasantly surprised. A fresh drink, identical to his remaining one, was waiting on him. He was also informed that his tab had been payed in full. Looking quickly toward the door, the tinted glass doors showed a flutter of curly light hair and business coat fluttering in the city wind before he was gone.


End file.
